[Solved] my children

Hi Rick,

Just a couple of questions but if you dont feel comfortable answering, no worries.

How old are your children and have CAFCASS spoken to them about their wishes?

The court are very used to parents making false allegations against the parent seeking more contact through the courts. If there is no evidence to support her claims then the judge may just move on, sometimes when allegations are being made then the judge may order a fact finding hearing. They may also order further reports such as a section 7 report which will be done by Social Services or CAFCASS. This is a more in depth report about the children and the home environment, both parents are interviewed alone and with the children to see how you all interact with them and how comfortable they are when they are with you.

Try not to get too down, if the allegations are false then all you can do is say they are, be honest and speak from your heart. It's important you don't get into a slanging match about her, the court is only interested in what is best for the children. Concentrate on the facts and they are that you had full responsibility for them for 2 years when she decided to leave. Because of this you have a very close bond with your children and they need you to be in their lives.

Most of all, if you presented such a risk to your daughter, how come she left her daughter with you for 2 years?

NJ is right, the Court do see through allegations that are not true...stand firm, be honest.

Good point EnyaM

thanks for your support ,just found out off caff cass that her ex boyfriend she also has accused of of something with my daughter and caff cass cant belive social services didnt inform me as i have pr
my daughter is 9 and my son is 7
thanks for the replies nice to know people out there to talk to

You're welcome rick.

CAFCASS sound as if they've got a handle on the allegations and yes they're right, SS should have informed you about the previous allegations against her ex boyfriend....from my own personal experience they (SS) are very good at not passing important information on to the non resident parent!

Sounds like she loves using [censored] abuse against partners!! That will be referred to in CAFCASS report! SS are very bad for not having contacted you about that allegation and you have the right to raise enquiries with the SS to find out what was said/what they are doing or have done about it! 🙂 (If you feel you can take that battle on too!)

I think I would advise you to focus on the court case first and foremost.... and then if you feel inclined you can discuss their shortcomings with a senior manager in the department that has been dealing with the allegations.

hi am back again well caff cass gave me the number to see if ss would tell me anything over my daughter phoned then yesturday and just keep passing post to post phoned my solictor they are saing that ss is very short staffed
i dont care if short staffed or not what if it was there daughter
as for court next week i dont know what will happen but iam going just get my point across i had strong bond with my kids been there since born had them by my self for over 2 years and see what happens i have been told that court goes towards the mother
i never been through this before or had dealings with ss or caff cass
thanks for the advice

Whenever you contact the SS ask that they log and file your telephone contact and the concerns you are raising...otherwise there may well be no record that you have done so.

Not all judges are biased towards the mother, but they have to take all allegations seriously to protect the children. With her past record of reporting bogus abuse though, it may well not be given much weight.

Al, you can do is your best, and focus on what is best for your children. You had full responsibility for them for 2 years so make as much of that as you can, and the strong bond that exists between you.

As you have a Solicitor working for you, I would get them to write to the SS for information on your behalf. You can then concentrate on the court case and as NJ says, you can only do your best 🙂 And most definitely make the most of the time you had the children.

Yes they will respond to an official request for information from your solicitor.

Best of luck in court.

Morning,

If your solicitor is worth his/her salt, they will speak to the SS themselves, and take the tack of how your children's best interests are severed by them being with you, as they have a well established routing with you. Also there are too many question marks over your ex. when it comes to who she is letting into her and inevitably your children's lives.

Please make sure that your solicitor follows YOUR INSTRUCTIONS and not just go down the path of, "this is just another Family case" which will be handled in the usual manner.

Hope this helps,

Brian

hi all and thanks for all the answers ,well today has come in about two hours iam at court iam abit nervious and see what happens
ss never got back to me over what happened to my daughter i just got pass pillow to post i spoke to my solictor and she justs says ss is very busy i hope today i can get my point accross in court but been told its just a informal and they will want to get statements and reports and have to have a risk assesment done ?

Good luck and best wishes for court.......Dave

hi all well court yesturday was pretty wasye the time ,got to go back in about 4 weeks to give statements and then see what will happen
went in court didnt say one word to me just said we need statemants
caff cass are saying they found no reason why i shouldnt have contact but are saying after next hearing i might need a risk essement in case i start seeing the kids and then she say something else
does anyone know what happens in regards to risk assement
thankyou

I know nothing of risk assessment when it comes to CRAPCASS but from my own experience I was advised to "head them off at the pass" as it were. That means be proactive in inviting them around to yours and demonstrating that you have nothing to hide and you can show that the environment where your children are going to be, is safe, clean and a good place where your child/children are going to be nurtured and loved.

Take it to them,

Brian

A Risk Assessment is to ascertain the dangers there might be to the child - i.e. your home, you, etc.

What has the Court asked for?

There is no point at the moment of asking CAFCASS to prepare a report now, they wont until they are asked to do so by the Court, unfortunately cuts prevent CAFCASS from doing that, they are already overworked.

As CAFCASS have already had involvement, I would assume through a schedule 2 report, and have not raised any concerns about you, the judge might not deem a risk assessment as necessary. I think it depends on what the mother says in her statement, make sure your statement deals with the allegations of grooming she has made against you and also the previous allegations about the other boyfriend...as this should discredit her and perhaps throw doubt on any other allegations she may come up with.

Yep I agree, I couldn't understand why they are waiting until the next hearing though and why I asked what the Court ordered, I dont understand causing further delay by not asking CAFCASS to start a report now.... 🙂

In my area the first hearing CAFCASS speak to parties prior to hearing and Court then says statements and CAFCASS report (note I amended to my area now 😆 )

He's already spoken to CAFCASS and he says that at the hearing they said they had no concerns about him, he is therefore talking about the schedule 2 report that is usually done prior to the first hearing, the one you mention above. Now hes been asked for a statement as has his ex, and CAFCASS are saying (I think) that she may make further allegations in which case a risk assessment might be ordered at the next hearing. I think its more likely to be a Section 7 and this will probably be undertaken by Childrens Services and not CAFCASS.

Yes true and also I note that the Solicitor says that the SS are overworked. I am sorry that does not wash, and again I would ask your Solicitor to write to them. If she refuses, I would suggest writing to SS myself, by recorded delivery, so you have your own paper trail. Telephone calls, like all companies, I swear blind not all of them get listed.

...I would ask your Solicitor to write to them. If she refuses....

she simply shouldn't refuse - your solicitor is working to your instructions, so unless you are asking her to do something illegal or unethical, the most she can to is explain to you why she thinks it's a bad idea, but ultimately, she works for you.